Masonic cemetery offers portal to the past

John Whiteaker and his family are buried in the Eugene Masonic Cemetery. Whiteaker was a soldier from Indiana in the Mexican-American war before he moved to California during the Gold Rush. He settled in Oregon, where he served as a judge and a member of the state legislature. In 1859, he began a four-year term as Oregon’s first governor.Photo: Alyssa Leslie

John Whiteaker and his family are buried in the Eugene Masonic Cemetery. Whiteaker was a soldier from Indiana in the Mexican-American war before he moved to California during the Gold Rush. He settled in Oregon, where he served as a judge and a member of the state legislature. In 1859, he began a four-year term as Oregon’s first governor.Photo: Alyssa Leslie

Eugene Masonic Cemetery, located at the intersection of University Street and 25th Avenue in Eugene, was established in 1859. Masonic cemetery is the burial ground of many of the city’s first settlers and founders and is still in use. In 1993, a nonprofit organization was created to maintain the Eugene Masonic Cemetery, as it was overrun by weeds and vandals.

Iantha Castleman, the wife of Phillip Castleman, is also buried in Eugene Masonic Cemetery. Noted in the cemetery burial list as the first photographer in Eugene, his photographs were possibly used to create the earliest lithographs documenting Eugene City circa 1859.Photo: Alyssa Leslie